


Lost

by reveetoile



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:08:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24992827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reveetoile/pseuds/reveetoile
Summary: Ohno and Nino are both single parents, and they meet at the playground where Nino’s child is misbehaving, and Ohno decides to comment on Nino’s parenting just to have Nino break down into tears.
Relationships: Ninomiya Kazunari/Ohno Satoshi
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	Lost

**Author's Note:**

> if you are wondering why this story does not entirely fit the summary: I did that prompt generator a few weeks ago, all one-shots are inspired by that XD

Nino stared at the bright digits of his alarm as they changed to five am. He sighed as he turned around on the bed again, trying to get back to sleep and failing. Of course, what else did he expect? He hadn’t slept longer than an hour at a time tonight - again. And now it was honestly too late even to attempt to fall back to sleep. He sighed as he rubbed his eyes slightly and then forced himself up. 

At least, he could prepare a breakfast for him and Hotaru. He nibbled on his lower lip as he peeked into the second bedroom he had. It was supposed to be a room for a child, but since Hotaru usually only was at his home over the weekend it has never been perfect for the little girl. There were toys scattered around, and he had tried to paint a bright, friendly ornament on the wall, but it just didn’t look right. Regardless of how hard he had worked. 

Hotaru had seemed happy enough, though, especially since she had helped. Tiny hand marks on the lower half of the wall told that story. It was fine for the weekends, he thought, but in no way good enough for his little daughter as a permanent room. He really needed to redecorate, but there had been no time yet - or so he told himself. 

He shook his head to dislodge the rather depressing thoughts and checked again on the little girl. She had her plush koala bear tightly in her arms, and her face was puffy from all the crying he did these last few days. Nino wasn’t sure how much of that he would be able to take without exploding, honestly. But he needed to do his best for her. He traced her cheek, smiling at how soft the skin was to his touch. She frowned slightly, and Nino was reminded at how early it was and decided to leave her as to hopefully not disturb her sleep too much. 

He went to the living room to tidy up a little bit, he had been too exhausted the evening before, and then to the bathroom to start on laundry. He was happy that the washing machine was mostly very silent and wouldn’t disturb the girl. Then he went to the kitchen and rechecked the time as he prepared himself a coffee. 

If it went like the other days, Hotaru would wake in another half an hour, just enough time to prepare some pancakes. Hopefully, she would eat that, he thought with a frown. Hotaru had never been a good eater, to begin with - in that coming entirely after him - but right now, he was happy for every bite that went into the girl. 

He put a bowl of fresh fruit salad on the table together with cream as he baked the pancakes, keeping them warm in the oven as he listened to any sounds coming from Hotaru’s room. 

He went into the room as he heard shuffling, shutting off the oven as he put on a smile on his face as he opened the door. “Good morning, little lady,” he greeted with a smile as he leant over the bed. “Did you have some good dreams?”

“Good morning, papa,” she mumbled quite subdued as it was just him and not her mother. But she put her thin arms around his neck, and he picked her up quickly. 

Hotaru kissed his cheek and laid her cheek against his shoulder. “I played with mama on the playground.”

“That sounds like a very nice dream,” he whispered, trying hard not to flinch as she nodded and tightened her grip. He wished it was nothing about her mother, but it couldn’t be helped. “Shall we go to the playground today? The weather should be nice.”

She stared at him for a moment, but then she nodded as she hid her face against his neck again. “Okay.”

Nino watched her, biting his lip at how small her voice still was but told himself that it was a progress that she agreed to go out. 

“Papa made some pancakes and fruit salad for breakfast. You like those, right?”

“Papa makes the best pancakes,” she said with a tiny smile and Nino cheered inside because of that. 

He smiled as he carried her to the bathroom, telling her about how they could take some pancakes and the rest of the fruit salad with them to the playground and if she preferred tea or hot chocolate for breakfast.

—

“Be nice, okay, Hotaru?”

“Yes, papa,” the girl said in a small voice and hugged her koala close to her body. Nino smiled and ruffled the hair of the little girl before getting up again. 

“I will sit on the bench, okay? If you need help or something, you call me,” Nino reminded her. 

“I’m already big!” she said with a pout, and he chuckled warily as he nodded. 

“Of course, have fun.”

She nodded and then turned around. She looked around with big eyes before running off to a group of children. Nino sighed tiredly as he fell to the bench, rubbing his eyes with his hands. He felt tired, but Hotaru had wanted to go out so out they went.

He watched the little girl who wore dark blue leggings with a red summer dress and blue dots. She had thrown a tantrum when Nino outright forbid her only to wear her favourite dress, but even if it was already spring it was still too cold, at least he thought so. But after much crying and yelling, they had compromised on her wearing the dress if she wore the leggings and a thin long-armed shirt under the dress. He had put two red bands into her hair which he had styled into pigtails which found her agreement, even if her smile was a bit shaky because her mama made them better than Nino. 

He only gave himself a few minutes to relax before he pulled out his phone to check his work emails. He frowned as he read about the deadlines from his boss and decided that the next night he couldn’t sleep; he would use to work a little bit. He should make sure that they still had a steady income. And even if his boss had agreed to give him an extended holiday if he needed them to make sure Hotaru was all settled, but deadlines were deadlines, and Nino would rather take a few of those projects than to let them all go to others. He wrote an answer to the man to tell him which ones he would still be able to do and pushed send when a voice close-by got his attention. 

“What a spoiled brat. Snatching all toys and not sharing theirs,” he mumbled with a frown. “And their parents don’t seem to care either.”

Nino flinched as he looked up to check on Hotaru, paling a little when he saw his little girl hugging the koala bear he had forgotten to take and fighting another kid that wanted to hold him. 

“Hotaru!” he shouted and frowned when the girl looked up but came over. He sighed as he knelt in front of her. “What are you doing? I told you you need to either share your toys or not bring them.”

“But… I can’t give Mimi!”

Nino sighed and nodded. He understood that sentiment since it was the last present that her mother had gotten for the little girl. “Alright. Give Mimi to me, and I’ll look after her.”

She nodded and handed the bear over. Nino smiled and ruffled her hair. He pulled over the bag for her to take a sand toy out when he realised that he had forgotten to pack them. God, he was so not ready for this. 

“Papa, can I go to the slide?”

“You may, Hotaru,” he said with a relieved sigh as he watched her go. 

He sat the bag down, putting Mimi on his lap because he knew that Hotaru would check up on her toy and leant back when the man clicked his tongue. Nino frowned and looked at the other. The man was tanned and had a rounded face. The sleepy look on his face would generally be something that Nino would find attractive but not right now.

“What is your problem?” he asked a bit annoyed. He had already enough problems piled up he didn’t need those looks as an extra, he thought a bit miserably. He knew he sucked. 

“No wonder she behaves like that if her father would rather be on his phone than looking after her. I wonder what her mother would say,” the man said with a frown. 

Nino pressed his lips to close together and held the toy tightly in his hands. He tried to ignore him, but it was hard, especially when he mentioned Hotaru’s mother. Without really wanting it, he felt tears building up. 

“It’s not as if I would ever know,” he whispered, now losing his fight against the tears as he pressed his hand against his lips to silence his sobs. He didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of the other man, but there was no choice it seemed. God, the day was awful. He should have told Hotaru they would stay home today, a night fully awake brought disaster, he should have known better, but Hotaru had smiled for the first time since the funeral three weeks ago.

The man beside him flinched visibly and stuttered beside him. “I’m sorry.”

Nino shook his head and tried hard to calm down. “No, I know I do horrible,” he said through his sobs. 

“I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m sorry. I don’t know what got into me.”

Nino shook his head. He didn’t know what got into him. He took a deep breath and hugged Mimi close to himself as he calmed down. 

“I’m really sorry,” the man said, offering him a handkerchief. 

Nino sniffed slightly and took it slowly. “Thank you,” he whispered as he took it and cleaned his face. 

“No, I was awful,” he mumbled.

“Yeah what would your mother say?” Nino joked weakly. 

“She would hit my head and scold me for being so impolite,” he said with an embarrassed smile. 

Nino chuckled wetly and pressed the handkerchief against his wet eyes. “I’m sorry for being so emotional. I don’t know what is wrong with me, honestly.”

“It’s okay. It’s normal to be like that when your wife died not long ago.”

“She was not my wife, but the best mother for Hotaru,” he whispered, managing a nervous smile when Hotaru ran over.

“Papa okay?” she asked, and he nodded carefully. 

“Don’t worry about papa.”

“I was not nice to your papa and made him sad,” the man beside him explained as Hotaru looked at him unbelievingly. 

Hotaru looked at the man and hid halfway behind Nino’s legs. “If you make people cry, you have to say sorry.”

“Right,” he said. “And as an apology, I would like to treat you both to some ice cream? Does that sound good?”

Hotaru didn’t look utterly sure about the offer but looked hopefully at Nino who smiled at his daughter. Ice-cream was a treat he couldn’t afford right now. 

“That sounds nice,” he mumbled and looked at him. “Thank you…?”

The other blushed and rubbed the back of his head. “Ohno Satoshi,” he said, and Nino nodded as he gave Mimi back to Hotaru who looked with big hopeful eyes at them and hugged her toy. 

Ohno smiled and called his son, Yuki, before taking them all out to an ice-cream parlour close. 

Nino watched Hotaru talking and then even laughing with Yuki as they watched a dog on the town square close by with a fond smile on his face, before rubbing his treacherous wet eyes. 

“I really don’t know if I can do this,” he whispered, and Ohno looked at him. 

“I’m sure you’ll be fine. Hotaru-chan loves you.”

“I love her. But… She loved her mama even more. I’m not a good father. I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“Nobody does, honestly,” Ohno said with a sigh as he ate his ice-cream. “I remember well how lost I was when Yuki’s mother died. And he was just a toddler. There was no sadness I had to fight against. And no awful people around on the playground.”

“How did you do it?” Nino asked curiously with a weak smile at the joke. 

“I had help from my parents.”

Nino hummed and nodded in understanding. 

“Don’t you?”

“Family?” Nino asked, and Ohno nodded curiously. 

Nino grimaced, why did he even consider answering? But then again it was the first person he had cried in front of since the funeral, and there was nothing else that would be more embarrassing he supposed.

“No, I don’t. At least none I can turn to.”

“What about friends?”

“They listen, but they are not yet fathers, so it’s a bit hard for them to understand the needs of a child,” Nino mumbled, smiling when he felt Hotaru’s eyes on him. She stared at him for long enough to make sure that he was still there before looking back at Yuki. 

Ohno frowned and observed him for a time. “If you wouldn’t be too offended we could meet and talk?”

Nino blinked and thought the offer over for a moment, before nodding slowly. “Sounds nice, thank you,” he whispered, with a sincere smile. 

“Papa!” Hotaru shouted and climbed on his lap, hugging him. 

“Yes, little lady?” he asked with a smile as he put her hair back into order. 

“Ca… May we go back to the playground? Yuki-kun and I want to play together.”

Nino chuckled and looked questioningly at Ohno who nodded in agreement. 

“Of course.”

“Did you finish the ice-cream, yet?”

Hotaru nodded, and Nino nudged her slightly, pointing at Ohno. 

“Thank you for the ice-cream,” she said with a happy smile.

“You’re very welcome. You are papa’s princess, right?”

Hotaru shook her head and hugged Nino around the neck. “I’m papa’s little lady, ne papa?”

“Yup,” He said with a smile. 

She kissed his cheek and then hopped down from his lap again, handing over Mimi. “Papa looks after Mimi, yes?”

“Okay, I can do that.”

Hotaru nodded and patted the toy before skipping over to Yuki, who was waiting already. They held hands and then looked up for their fathers to follow them back to the playground. 

“This is the happiest I have seen her since weeks,” Nino sighed. 

“The wonder of children. I promise you she’ll be back to being miserable soon enough. You should enjoy it as long as you can.”

“I will,” Nino whispered, hoping that the times Hotaru enjoyed herself got longer and longer each time.

—

It was weeks later when the doorbell rang, and Hotaru ran into the kitchen where Nino was preparing their dinner. “Papa!”

“Yes, little lady?” Nino asked with a frown as he took off his apron, after making sure the stove was off. 

“The doorbell rang.”

“Right, I heard that.”

“Uncle Toshi is there, and Yuki-kun! Yuki-kun told me he would bring his dragon and we can play, right?”

“Yes, Hotaru,” Nino chuckled and picked her up so that she was on his arm as he checked through the viewer if it was truly Ohno and buzzed them up into his apartment. 

“Little lady, you have to be good today, ne? Yuki-kun will sleepover with his daddy today.”

Hotaru nodded and then giggled as she hid her face against his shoulder. 

“What is so funny?” he asked amusement evident in his voice. 

“Papa and uncle Toshi are going to kiss again?”

Nino tried hard not to blush at the question and the giggling face of his daughter. “Maybe. Why don’t you like it?” he asked a bit worried since he had believed that Yuki and Hotaru both were okay with their fathers dating. 

Hotaru shook her head so wildly that her pigtails flew around her head. “I like it. Kissing uncle Toshi makes papa happy ne?”

“It does, indeed,” Nino said with a smile, opening the door when Ohno knocked at it. He smiled happily when Ohno first greeted Hotaru who wriggled in her father’s arm until Nino let her down. He watched the kids take each other’s hands for and ran inside for a second. “Dinner is already ready, so don’t go play just yet!” he shouted after them, rolling his eyes when there was no answer. 

Ohno chuckled as he moved forward to kiss his cheek. “Let them be, ne?”

“Okay,” Nino said with the pout. Ohno laughed as he kissed him again and Nino smiled as he indeed invited him in, catching their kids shortly after to finally eat the dinner, before Nino allowed them to vanish into Hotaru’s room for the rest of the evening. 

A/N: Another bad one XD It was different in my head when I planned this.


End file.
